Thursday, April 5, 2012

Gabriel

Gabriel you've gone too far,
and you should hang your head in shame,
for these wounds I cannot stay.
You've gone too far, you broke my heart.

Ethan Stiefel & Gillian Murphy in Swan Lake

Finally, I get to talk about my 12th-favorite song of last year. It missed my Top 11 of 2011 list by just a hair, and while it killed me to leave it off, I was a slave to the system. But now it's getting a new opportunity to shine. Joe Goddard's (of Hot Chip fame) Gabriel is a haunting, minimalist electronic piece driven by the powerful vocals of London singer Valentina, lamenting love and betrayal. I swear it has some Judeo-Christian undertones - though I can't find a review that mentions them, so maybe I'm alone in this belief.

The Gabriel EP, featuring the single and dub versions, was released back in August, but it's gotten a facelift for the new year. Thanks to Nashville Nights I learned that The Gabriel Remixes 2 EP was released on April 2nd, featuring new remixes by The Aston Shuffle, D&B artist Calibre, and the fabulous Soulwax. Because nothing that Soulwax does should be overlooked, I'm providing it here for you to stream, though you should be sure to check out the whole EP, and buy it on iTunes.